You just never know…

…what is going to happen at an art fair.

Will there be sun, rain, wind? Will the people show up, and will they like my stuff? Will I meet someone interesting?

Actually, for that last one, I think the answer is always “yes.” I always meet interesting people. 

And now I’ve met someone famous too! 

My travel hero, Rick Steves, stopped by my booth at the Edmonds Arts Festival this weekend. We traveled all over Europe with his books when we lived in Italy, so it was great to meet him in person and to say thank you. I was an embarrassingly gushing fangirl, but I had to ask for a picture. My husband and son were jealous! 

This was a fair of a lot of firsts, and not just meeting a celebrity. It was my first time out of state, to Washington, and the farthest I’ve gone for a fair. It was the first time I’ve driven my husband’s truck, since my Jetta Sportwagon was totaled in January. First time collecting tax (Oregon has no sales tax). First time using AirBnB. 

And you know what? For all the firsts, it all went great. It was wonderful to get back out there and share my art with a new group of people. I met some really wonderful people, some who’ve participated in the Liberate Your Art swap or have met online before, some who were ready to learn iPhone photography, some who just wanted my art on their wall. 

Here’s my booth this year:

The banner and books on display are new, otherwise pretty much the same display as last year. What you can’t see is a new inventory control system I figured out this winter, complete with bar codes for easy check out, all run with my iPhone. It saved me soooo much time figuring out what sold and what I need to replace before my next show! Very happy with it.

Next art fair is this weekend: Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts!

Will I see you there?

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